


Can I Buy You A Drink?

by WhatsYourNameMan



Series: I Got Y'All Knuckleheads [3]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward asking out, Foster Care, Foster dad Herc, M/M, Meddling foster sons, Piano Recital, teacher!Aaron Burr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-04-08
Packaged: 2018-10-16 09:12:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10568205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatsYourNameMan/pseuds/WhatsYourNameMan
Summary: How Hercules and Aaron actually agreed to date through the persuasion of Hercules's foster sons.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Acquainted](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9130891) by [Laenix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laenix/pseuds/Laenix). 



> This is one year B.A.—Before Alex. John's a 14 y.o. freshman and Laf's a 15 y.o. sophomore.

Aaron had stayed later than he usually did after school ended. He didn't know why; he didn't have any extra work to do or papers to grade. He just had a gut feeling that he should stay longer. He normally wasn't a man to trust anything that wasn't hard fact, but this felt important. 

He was playing with his pet snake, letting her slither around his arms and shoulders, when he heard a shy cough. He turned around to see the foster father of two of his students standing uncertainty in the doorway. Aaron smiled at him in surprise. 

"Mr. Mulligan, come in." 

"Hercules," the man reminded him. 

"Right," Aaron said, "Hercules. What brings you by?" He gently placed his snake back in her cage. 

Hercules rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Aaron couldn't help but find it slightly endearing. 

"Um, John has his first piano recital tonight, and we were wondering...Well, you were the one who recommended his teacher so we thought you might like to come hear him play?"

Aaron opened his mouth to respond, but Hercules rambled on, providing an explanation that wasn't needed. 

"I mean, you don't have to by any means, but I thought it might be nice for you to hear how much progress he's made. I know it would mean a lot to me—to him!" Hercules turned a bright red. "Er, it would mean a lot to John if you came." 

Aaron graciously pretended he didn't hear the slip. "I would love to come." 

Hercules's face lit up, but he didn't say anything. He just stared at Aaron with a goofy grin. A matching grin tried to break out on Aaron's face, but he quickly reminded himself that this was a student's parent, and he could not be attracted to a student's parent. 

"So, should I sit with you, or...?"

Hercules snapped back to reality. "Oh! Yeah, if you want to."

"Perfect," Aaron said. "I'll see you tonight then." 

"Yeah, see you tonight." Hercules was still beaming as he backed out of the room. He ran into the doorway and Aaron had to force himself not to giggle. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Herc's two sons were waiting for him outside Burr's classroom. They took one look at Herc's flustered face and burst into laughter. They had heard everything. 

"That was, how you say, smooth," Lafayette smirked as soon as they were out of Burr's earshot. 

"Shut up," Herc grumbled, rubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands. 

"No, seriously," John gasped out between laughs. "You gotta teach me how to get a guy. I wanna know all your moves." 

"Oh my god," Herc groaned. "This was such a bad idea." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This was such a bad idea." Aaron stared himself down in the mirror. 

He was wearing a nice new maroon blazer and a tie with music notes on it. He had put more effort than usual into his appearance, and he was cursing himself for it. 

He never should have agreed to go to the recital. He had tried for years to keep his distance from Hercules, knowing that any time spent with him would cause Aaron to take the final fall for the gentle man. 

He thought maybe he should cancel, then shook the thought out of his head. This was fine. He could make it through without anything happening. 

As he drove back to the school for the recital he battled the butterflies in his stomach. They were putting up quite a fight. 

Hercules and Lafayette were waiting outside the school. Lafayette was wearing one of his nicer dresses and Hercules, damn it, looked stunning. He was wearing a white dress shirt that Aaron guessed he had made himself with a loose tie, and for once he had no beanie or bandana around his head. Aaron had never realized how good Hercules's hair looked, and for a moment he seriously considered turning the car around and driving away. 

He pulled into his usual spot and walked over to the father and son. Hercules's face lit up when he saw the teacher coming towards him, then reddened when he saw his outfit. 

"You came!" Hercules's booming voice echoed across the parking lot. "Wow, Mr. Burr, sir, you clean up nice." 

"I said I would, didn't I?" Aaron smiled at him as he reached the pair. "And please, call me Aaron. We're outside of school. Hello Lafayette." 

"Bonjour Monsieur Burr," Lafayette grinned. 

"Where's John?" Aaron asked. 

"He's backstage getting ready," Hercules said. "C'mon, I saved us some seats up front." 

Aaron followed the Mulligans to the front row of the school's small auditorium. Once they were situated Hercules got a text from John asking him to come backstage. Hercules went to find him, leaving Aaron alone with Lafayette.

"We were not sure if you would come," Lafayette said, turning to Aaron. 

"We being...?" 

"Myself and John," Lafayette explained. "Herc too, but it was John and me who convinced him to ask you." 

"Really?" Aaron asked. "Why?"

Laf rolled his eyes. "This should be obvious, my foster father has the biggest, how you say, crush on you." 

Aaron turned a deep red. "I-I highly doubt this is appropriate conversation," he spluttered. 

"Fine," Laf said. "You do not have to respond but please listen. Herc is a great man, and he admires you greatly. I know he has asked you out a few times and you have rejected him because of your policy on students' parents. I want you to know that John and I are very comfortable with you accepting his offer, and that if you're worried about accusations of preferential treatment, John is fully prepared to prove that you would never do that." 

Aaron didn't have time to even contemplate responding because Hercules came back with a soft smile on his face. 

"John was freaking out," he chuckled as he slid past Aaron to sit between him and Laf. "It took a lot to calm him down, but he's fine now." He dropped down into his seat and looked back and forth between them. "So what'd I miss?" 

"Nothing," Laf and Aaron said at the same time, causing Hercules to raise an eyebrow at both of them and hum suspiciously. Any further line of questioning was cut off by the lights dimming and the crowd falling silent. 

They sat politely through the younger kids plucking out Hot Cross Buns and Ode to Joy, and then a few high school kids playing more complicated pieces that ranged from classical to pop songs. Aaron recognized a few of his students, but it wasn't until John took the stage that he really started paying attention. 

The boy nervously scampered out onto the stage and sat down at the piano. They were sitting close enough that Aaron saw him lick his lips and steel himself before beginning to move his hands across the keys. He was playing an upbeat classical piece. Aaron watched his hands and his concentrated face before making the mistake of looking over at Hercules. 

The man's eyes were intently focused on his foster son and shining with pride. Aaron thought it was beautiful, and he found himself hoping that someday Hercules would look at him with that much love. 

It was directly after he had this thought that Aaron came to a decision. That night he would accept Hercules's offer. He would go on a date with him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"John, that was amazing!" Herc ran to his foster son in the lobby after the recital and scooped him up into a hug. "I'm so proud of you!" 

John was full of adrenaline from the performance. "Thanks Herc!" Peeking over Herc's shoulder, he caught sight of Burr. "Hi Mr. Burr!" 

Burr waved. "Hello John. You were excellent!" 

John beamed at him then pulled away from Herc to talk to Laf. Herc watched them with a find smile, then was distracted by Burr's hand on his arm. 

"Can I talk to you?" Burr asked in a shy voice. 

Herc nodded. "Yeah, of course." 

Herc let Burr lead him to a side hallway that was emptier and therefore more private. It was dimly lit, being after school hours, but Burr seemed to radiate light so Herc didn't notice. 

"What's up?" Herc asked. 

Burr fidgeted with his watch. "So, um, I only have John as a student for a couple more months and I think... What I mean to say is... I was wondering if your offer to get a coffee still stands?" 

Herc took a moment to process what was happening, then his mouth shaped into a surprised O, and then his face fell into a smirk. 

"Mr. Burr, sir, are you asking me on a date?" 

Burr bit his lip. "Mr. Mulligan, I think I am." 

Herc hummed, "It would be highly inappropriate for me to get coffee with my child's teacher." 

"Wait what?" Burr asked, shocked at hearing what he had said so many times repeated back to him. 

Herc broke out into a grin. "I'm kidding. I'd love to go on a date with you Aaron." 

Herc managed to keep his cool until they said goodbye to Aaron and the three Mulligans got into their car. Then, not caring that his foster sons were there, Herc let out a squeal worthy of a middle school girl at a sleepover. 

"So he said yes then?" John asked.

**Author's Note:**

> I just want to remind y'all that this whole AU is based on @Laenix's fic "Accquainted" and if you haven't read it you should do so immediately. Not because you need it to understand this series, but just because you need it in your life.


End file.
